Page 73 of Bodybuilders for the BBW

OK, this was never going to work. I borrowed a yoga mat from the studio, and as I tried to roll Katie’s out, then mine, puppies converged. They thought this was a great game, a couple grabbing the end of the mat and tugging at it.

“Hey…!”

People turned around to see what the fuss was about, but Katie came to the rescue. She swept a couple of the puppies up in her arms, laughing as they licked at her face. Right then I forgot about the yoga. Her wild smile, the way she completely gave in to the moment, giggling as she tried to get the pups under control had me forgetting all about the mats and just staring at her. Finally, she gave the dogs a couple of commands, setting them down and getting them to sit obediently before she turned to me.

“Need help?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I’ve got this.”

And so I did, trying to cover my preoccupation with preparing for the class.

I’m fairly sure the dogs were there to challenge old hands at this. We started with a mindfulness exercise, sitting cross legged and bringing our awareness back to the room. My breath going in and out of my lungs?—

Did I follow up on those blood tests the doctor asked for?

Feeling the way my head was stacked on my neck, the length of my spine, the way my hips were grounded on the mat.

The new nursing student seriously needed some lessons on putting in IV lines. She bruised the hell out of a couple of patients, destroying both her confidence and the patients’.

Taking a big breath in and?—

Lick! My eyes opened to find a mischievous pup had jumped up and licked the side of my face and was about to go back for more.

“Sit…!” I hissed, trying not to disturb the tranquillity of the studio, even as I noticed plenty of other people were dealing with similar distractions.

“Alright,” the instructor said, “we’re going to try some standing poses now. Let's start with the mountain pose. Let's stand tall, lengthen our spines and ground ourselves through our heels…”

A little giggle dragged my attention away from the instructor. I looked across to find two puppies were back and gnawing at Katie’s toes. She wrinkled them up, while still trying to ground herself through the heels, I’m sure. Her eyes were on the instructor, but her focus? Entirely on the puppies, then when she noticed I was staring, her eyes met mine and I caught it.

I’d thank Rhett ten times over for suggesting this, because right now Katie looked completely and utterly happy.

We moved through a few different poses as the pups fought hard to get our attention, when the instructor said the words I hoped she wouldn’t say.

“Now, grab yourself a partner, because we’re going to move into adho mukha svanasana or downward dog.” She held up an adjustable belt. “We’ll be using these because when we first start practicing these poses, it’s difficult to get our hips back far enough. You’ll be feeding the belt around your partner’s hips and then standing behind them and gently pulling backwards, helping them to lengthen their spine.”

Fuck my life. I was about to stare down at Katie’s perfectly proportioned arse and try really bloody hard not to pop a boner.

Chapter37

Katie

Whose idea was this?

I watched the very slender, very bendy instructor go through the movements of the pose like it was no big thing. All I saw was me with my head down and arse up to the room. Going to the gym with Mandie was nerve-racking enough. Suddenly I was questioning her assertion that these tights would not reveal all when I bent over.

“Everything OK?” Garrett came and stood beside me, and the sceptical way he was watching the movement lightened my heart. “I admit, I didn’t think this through. Rhett has been standing in all of these weird poses all week.”

“He has?”

The idea that the burly firefighter did homework in preparation for this date had me staring at Garrett all misty eyed.

“Yeah, and I’m starting to wish I’d joined him. I lift heavy things.” He tapped his chest. “Not do… that.”

“Now, if you are struggling to get down on all fours—” the instructor said.

“Yes, yes I am,” Garrett muttered.

I tried to hold back a snort but failed entirely. He shot me a conspiratorial smile that had me flushing for an entirely different reason. Those dark brown eyes were like a vat of coffee, ready for me to sink into, transporting me out of this room to somewhere else entirely.

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